Driver charged in Worcester pedestrian fatality says he thought he hit a deer

Monday

Jan 11, 2016 at 1:43 PMJan 11, 2016 at 11:20 PM

Gary V. Murray Telegram & Gazette Staff @GaryMurrayTG

WORCESTER - The driver charged in a fatal hit-and-run accident early Saturday on West Boylston Street told investigators he stopped because he thought he might have struck a deer, but proceeded on his way after seeing nothing in the roadway, according to a prosecutor.

Vincent Green, 21, of 16 Blake Ave., West Boylston, was ordered held on $5,000 cash bail at his arraignment Monday in Central District Court on charges stemming from an accident Saturday morning that claimed the life of 56-year-old Frank Jeffrey Call, a security guard at Union Station, as he was walking along the edge of the road near 984 West Boylston St. Mr. Green is charged with motor vehicle homicide by negligent driving, driving so as to endanger and leaving the scene of a personal injury accident resulting in death.

Judge Paul L. McGill ordered Mr. Green to remain under house arrest with GPS monitoring, not to drive and and is to have no contact with Mr. Call's family. Assistant District Attorney Julieanne Karcasinas said Mr. Green's driver's license was suspended by the state Registry of Motor Vehicles as an immediate threat to the safety of the public, as requested by investigators.

A city sanding truck driver found Mr. Call lying on the side of West Boylston Street about 2:50 a.m. Saturday and notified police. Mr. Call, who was unresponsive, was taken by ambulance to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 3:23 a.m., according to police.

Co-workers said Mr. Call often rode his 50cc scooter to work, but took a bus Friday night. After finishing his shift, Mr. Call took an 11:35 p.m. bus home and was apparently walking from the bus stop at East Mountain and West Boylston streets to his house at 2 Wilbur St. when he was struck.

Investigators with the Worcester police accident reconstruction team found pieces of a vehicle, including a passenger-side mirror, in the area where the accident occurred, according to Ms. Karcasinas. Based on the parts found, police believed they knew what type of vehicle they were looking for and where it might be located, according to Ms. Karcasinas.

The prosecutor said police sent out a "be on the lookout" bulletin to West Boylston police, who later located a 2002 GMC Sierra, the type of vehicle that was being sought, at Mr. Green's family's home at 16 Blake Ave. in that town. The passenger-side mirror was damaged and taped up, according to the prosecutor.

While police were looking at the vehicle, Mr. Green emerged from the house and asked if he could help them, Ms. Karcasinas told the court. She said Mr. Green admitted to police he had been driving the vehicle the night before and said he thought he might have hit something. When asked why he did not turn himself in, Mr. Green said he was too scared, according to Ms. Karcasinas.

The assistant district attorney said investigators believed the vehicle that struck Mr. Call did stop momentarily before speeding off. Ms. Karcasinas alleged that Mr. Green knew he struck someone, but intentionally left the scene. When a friend who had seen social media accounts of the fatal accident sent him a text suggesting he might have been involved, Mr. Green still did not contact police, she said.

Ms. Karcasinas said human hair was found on the passenger side of Mr. Green's vehicle.

Lawyer Jeffrey B. Goldstein, who was appointed to represent Mr. Green, said the suspect lives with his parents and 18-year-old brother and has been studying to take the EMT exam. Mr. Goldstein said Mr. Green had no prior criminal convictions, works part-time at a deli and helps his father deliver newspapers.

The defense lawyer said Mr. Green knew he struck something with his vehicle Saturday morning and thought it might have been a deer. According to Mr. Goldstein, Mr. Green stopped, looked around, didn't see anything and left without getting out of his vehicle. He said Mr. Green arrived home about 2:30 a.m. and told his mother he believed he might have struck an animal in the road.

Mr. Green's father went to the area described by his son, but saw nothing, according to Mr. Goldstein, who had asked that his client be released on his own recognizance.

Ms. Karcasinas had requested $10,000 cash bail.

Mr. Green's case was continued to Feb. 8. His family Monday afternoon posted $5,000 bail and he was released from custody.

Mr. Green's parents told reporters after the arraignment they had no comment, but his mother did say her son "didn't know he did this."